21-st July, 2009

Dear friends,
Last week had been a busy week for me. I celebrated
my 86th birthday. Telephone calls from friends from all over,
like France, Mexico, Belgium, Colombia, Spain within and some
of USA. I did not mention my birthday in my circular e-mail,
because I wanted to keep the birthday not so important.
Caramba, where did all the years go? I ask myself.
And was astonished that old friends, faraway, still remembered
my birthday, which I wanted to keep moderate level.
My old friend Kees and wife Marianne drove all the way from
Holland down to Engelthal, to celebrate. ( I had been with him
1956 together in Yucatán). Well, all the neighors came, the
Bürgermeister (burgomaster) of the village came with a
bunch of flowers, the Lutheran village pastor came,
and let all the party pray for more blessed years for me.
Belgian friends from St Vith phoned that they will come
next week to congratulate. In their house with my gun
team we took quarter by force, (december 1944),and
on Holy Eve, singing suddendly the christmas chorals
together, we were no more enemies, but became friends
for lifetime. It is now the third generation. Yes, war can
have sometimes some human elements. A week before,
on 18th december we were exposed to a murderous
American artillery fire, despaired we prayed to God.
So many buddies had died within one hour. Maybe we
so very devotedly celebrated the Christmas Night, havin
just come out of a hell.
And I never again so emotionally thought of the christchild
born on Holy Eve. And the Holy Night made of us friends,
When we had arrived at their half-destroyed house, they
were very hostile.They had cozely adapted to the four
months of American occupation. And then - we embelciles
stomped back to East Belgium, as a "christmas gift"
The bloodletting Battle of the Bulge.
But the Holy Eve had then produced a friendship , already
with the third generation-
You will wonder why just on the 86th birthday I do remember
all this. Those of you who were US soldiers of that time, will
understand.

I treated last week the congratulators with champagne of best
class Moet-Chandon and Bordeaux red wine Mouton-Cadet.
from Baron Rothschild. (God bless the French champagne
makers and the French who invented the champagne 400 years
ago. and the jewish Rothschild clan for providing the world with
such heavenly wines, since four generations.)
A pity you could not be with us. I feel on the 86th anniversary
one must be generous. One never knows about the next.

Now some topics of the week: There are encouraging reports
that the auto industry is gradually recovering.
BMW receives again enough new orders that they must
increase their production, after so many months of "short hour
weeks. Surprisingly, they must presently run extra shifts
to meet the present demand.
Volkswagen is producing almost normal now,
And now come also encouraging reports of Daimler Mercedes,
which had lost so very much business, because of the crisis.
Mercedes is still very low in sales of their cars, Despite of heavy
monetary losses, Mercedes had still capital for changing very
much of their production. They will build with their AS - class
types of "modern luxury" new motors with a consumption
of less than 8 liters/100 km, for future markets Europe and USA.
But East Europe and China still demand large cars with
powerfully roaring motors. For them, Mercedes must
deliver roaring twelve-cylinder cars, Really a difficult spagat.
But the Daimler Boss Zetsche is an optimist. He declares
that by the end of the crisis, Mercedes-Benz will be in a
better position than many other automakers, becaus they are
now making heavy investments in fuel saving technics.
He believes that for this reason, Mercedes and BMW will
be out of the crisis, as soon as their customers will have profited
from the economical recovery.
"We will furtheron produce big cars, but rhey must be designed
with modern environment technics." The new motor OM-651
is one of the proud motors of the project designers.
This four cylinder diesel motor has the torque moment of
an eight cylinder gasoline motor. - and consumes in the
C.class less than five liters, !!!!! The problem is to "overbridge"
the time with so heavy new investments for the new motors,
which will bring the profits only in future. Therefore, Mercedes
will now build a new factory in Hungaria, because of the lower
salary level there, to have a "mix-price" with the high level
German salaries.
BMW feels itself strong enough to come through the crisis alone.
And some collaboration between the two competitors BMW and
Mercedes is now no longer out of consideration.
Right now, Volkswagon tries to "swallow" the sports car make
PORSCHE, which would make Volkswagen the largest automaking
concern of Europe.
The Japanese automakers are also working hard on new type ot
automotors. Full electric drive or combined with gasoline motprs
And the new US General Motors, giving up their gasoline guzzling
SUV programs anyway, will have the opportunizy to change their
production altogether in completely new type cars, with lowst
fuel consumption and low CO2 emission, or/and electric drive cars,
Just a few days ago, a completely new electro drive car has been
presented at an exhibition in Nürnberg, headlined:
WITH ELECTRICITY TEMPO 250
With 367 horsepower, in 4,2 seconds from zero to 250 km/hour
to its top speed. And all this with an electric motor. That this is
feasible proves the "Greenster", built by the small series carmaker
Ruf, in collaboration with SIEMENS. This concern brought their
prototype for presentation to Nürnberg. The concern hopes for
good business with electric cars in future. One plugs the cable
of the electro car in the evening in the normal electricity socket,
and can drive next day 250 kiliometers till reloading. This, the
carmakers say, is sufficient for much of the inner city traffic.
( General Electric surely will read this report, and maybe does
this same wizh GM.) In any case, the time of mobility is not
over yet, and the new versions will be much better. So the
world remains motorized and does not go back to the
wheelbarry age. And thanks to the global finance crisis,
this develeopment is speeded up. Again, as an old proverb
says: " everything bad, has also something good with it. "

AFGHANISTAN: HEADLINES;
ThE BUNDESWEHR (German military) FOR FIRST TIME
ATTACKS THE TALIBAN POSITIONS WITH TANKS:
The German military fights presently in its so far largest
military offensive against the radical islamic Taliban in
North Afghanistan, and uses for the first time Tanks and heavy
weapons. The German patrols are now almost continually
attacked by talibans. The German tactics to preferably help
to rebuild schoolhouses, hospitals and infrastructure, which
had been successful for a while, no longer works. The talibans
declare that it is a sin to build schools for girls.

The new Eurpean hymn. .It is from parts of the ODE TO THE JOY,
of Ludwig van Beethoven's 9th symphony and poem from Friedrich
von Schiller..It has been sung on 9th May, 2009, during "La Journée
de l'Europe" at the Mémorial de Caen, in four languages; German,
French, English and Breton.
Freude schöner Götterfunken, Tochter aus ELYSIUM:
Wir betreten feuertrunken himmlische, dein Heiligtum.
Deine Zauber binden wieder, was die Mode streng geteilt.
Alle Menschen werden Brüder, wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.

JOY, bright spark of heavenly Glory, daughter of ELYSIUM.
Fire inspired we seek for refuge in Your holy sanctuary,
. With your force of inspiration, all whom custom would divide,
People will become as brothers, where Your gentle wings reside.

JOIE belle étincelle divine, fille de l'Elysée.
Nous entrons l'âme envirée dans ton temple glorieux.
Ton magique attrait resserre ce que la mode en vain détruit.
Tous les hommes deviennent frères, ou ton aile nous conduit.

I think this is a very good hym, So different from the former
"Deutscland über alles in der Welt" or the still French
"Allons garcons de la patrie."

Greetings, HANS--------

My Childhood in Engenthal

My brother Leonhard, who died in the war in 1944 in France, he was 18 years old.

In the first photo I am in the left.

Hans Geng Assaultartillerist